16 August 2024; Mrinal Asija
If you follow any sports content on social media, there is a good chance that you would have come across Olympic medal tallies showing Australian women placed amongst the top. Yes, not Australia, but Australian women. The posts are a nod to the fact that women did the bulk of medal winning for the country at the Paris Olympics, carrying Australia to its best-ever finish at the Games. Amongst them are three University of Melbourne students and alumni who have done the country and the University community proud – Grace Brown, Jemima Montag and Jessica Morrison.
Grace Brown
It was only the first official day of main events of the Paris Olympics when Australia secured its first medal – a gold. It was road cyclist Grace Brown, Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Languages alum, who had won it by finishing the Women's Individual Time Trial as the champion.
The gold win was a great redemption for Grace, who had narrowly missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a fourth-place finish. It will also be a glorious way to bring down curtains on her cycling career, having announced her plans to retire at the end of the year.
The win in challenging conditions that saw many falls and crashes came in a dominating fashion for Grace. The 32-year-old had a bit of a fumble at the launch on the slippery course. But she managed to regain her balance and get into the rhythm very quickly. She took 39 minutes and 38.24 seconds to get through the 32.4-kilometre Parisian course. This was a stunning 1:31.59 faster than the silver medallist – Anna Henderson of Great Britain.
Grace’s gold medal is Australia’s first in an Individual Time Trial event at the Olympic Games and she carried forward the legacy of Bachelor of Science alum Kathy Watt, who became the first Australian woman to win an Olympics road cycling event at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Jemima Montag
Master of Public Health student and Bachelor of Science alum Jemima Montag will be returning with not one but two medals from the 33rd Olympic Games. The 26-year-old embodied the Aussie spirit of grit and determination by taking out the bronze medal in the Women’s 20km Race Walk in gruelling hot conditions. The athlete who had finished sixth at Tokyo and won a Commonwealth Games gold and a World Championships silver went to Paris with huge expectations. She lived up to those despite there being moments in the race where doubts clouded her thoughts. Her resilient display on the streets of Paris was also a tribute to her grandmother, who had fled to the city from the Auschwitz camps after World War II. Jemima ultimately finished 31 seconds behind the gold medallist – Jiayu Yang of China – setting a new Australian Record of 1:26:25.
Six days after her heroics, Jemima was back in action, this time in the brand-new event, the Mixed Marathon Walk Relay. The team was placed ninth when she took over from her partner Rhydian Cowley after the opening leg. By the time she handed it back to her partner, they were amongst the leaders. With only three competitors ahead of them now, Jemima accelerated in the final leg, securing a podium finish for her team and Australia.
Jessica Morrison
Rower and Master of Business Administration alum Jessica Morrison has won her second Olympic medal at her third Games. Jessica was the gold medallist at Tokyo, finishing on top of the podium in the Women’s Four. However, the Fitzroy local since shifted her focus to the Pairs event and won the silver medal with Annabelle McIntyre at the 2023 World Rowing Championships.
Morrison and McIntyre also combined at Paris and finished first in their heat and the semifinal to qualify for Final A. The pair ultimately secured a bronze with a timing of 7:03.54. With the result at Paris 2024, Jessica, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours, has furthered her sporting legacy.
While Grace, Jemima and Jessica will be returning with medals around their necks, being part of the Olympics is every athlete’s dream and all the University students and alumni who participated in Paris have a lot to be proud of.
Bachelor of Commerce student Hayley Verbunt came within touching distance of the podium, finishing fourth in the Women's Eight Rowing event. Giving her company in the boat were Veterinary Science alumn Sarah Hawe and Melbourne University Boat Club (MUBC) member Lucy Stephan. Science student Putu Anastasia Kusmawan was part of the Australian team that finished ninth in Artistic Swimming. Doctor of Physiotherapy student Georgia-Rose Brown, who recently switched allegiance to New Zealand, was placed 34th in Women's All-Around Artistic Gymnastics rankings. Future Doctor of Medicine student Rebecca Henderson joined Jemima Montag in both Women’s 20km and Mixed Marathon Relay Walks, finishing 31st and 22nd in the events respectively.
On the men’s side of the 20km Race Walk, science alum Kyle Swan bagged the 35th position. Fellow athlete and Architecture and Languages alum Catriona Bisset came 17th in the Repechage Round of Women’s 800m. The University had another represent in the cycling events in science alum Ruby Roseman-Gannon, who finished - 39th in the Women’s Road Race. The other science alumni at Paris were Sam Williamson (eight in his 100m Breaststroke Heat) and Ria Thompson (eight in Women's Quadruple Sculls). The Arts Faculty was represented by alumni Campbell Harrison (19th in Men’s Sports Climbing) and Ben Buckingham (29th in Men's 3000m Steeplechase). In the shooting range, it was the experienced Elena Galiabovitch, a Doctor of Medicine grad, placing 37th and 35th in Women's 10m Air Pistol and 25m Pistol events respectively.
The University was also represented at the Games by members of its affiliated clubs. Melbourne University Athletics Club member Joel Baden was placed 27th in Men's High Jump, while former University Blues Volleyball Club member Thomas Hodges came 17th in Men’s Beach Volleyball. MUBC had a strong presence in Paris, with Ben Canham (sixth in Men's Eight), Simon Keenan (13th in Men's Pair), Amanda Bateman (seventh in Women's Double Sculls) and Jean Mitchell (ninth in Women's Four) also joining Lucy Stephan.
A special mention must also be made for Dr Alice McNamara, Science and Medicine alum, who was the Team Doctor of the bronze medal-winning Australian Women’s Basketball Team.
As the Paris Olympics come to a close, the focus will now shift to the Paralympics, where Bachelor of Arts alum and triple-medallist from Tokyo Jaryd Clifford will be in action. The Games will commence in the French capital on the 28th of August.